


Too Many Miles Between Us

by KawaiiBoushi



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M, and now i can't say this is all fluff, don't worry the description might sound angsty but it's fluff, see i said that and it applied to the first two chapters but now chapter 3 happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-16 23:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4643838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiBoushi/pseuds/KawaiiBoushi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Naoto's work takes her where Kanji can't go. Long-term long-distance presents a new set of challenges.</p><p>Update: Sorry, this is no longer anything vaguely resembling chronological. Originally inspired by Tumblr prompts, and I loved the idea too much to leave it alone.</p><p>Chapter 4: The most self-indulgent of fluff. Kisses and pancakes on a quiet morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Have a great trip,” Kanji murmured. Pressing his lips to Naoto’s forehead, he added, “And call me, okay?” A peck on the tip of her nose. “Or at least text if ya don’t have time to call.” He nuzzled against her cheek, kissing her jawbone. “The time difference is, what, nine hours? Just call whenever, I don’t care if it’s four in the mornin’, I’ll leave the ringer on loud enough to wake me up.”

Naoto hummed in amusement, gently pulling away, ears tinged pink. “Kanji, we are in public,” she whispered, though the few people at the airport at this hour were similarly traveling for business and unconcerned with the goodbyes of those around them. “It’s only a few months at the most, I’ll be home before you know it.”

“I know. But you’re more’n just a few hours away this time. We ain’t even gonna be in the same country.” Kanji gripped her shoulders. “I’m gonna miss you.” 

Naoto smiled softly, reaching one hand up to brush her fingers along his cheekbone. “As will I.” With a sudden disregard for her own modesty, her hand slipped to the back of Kanji’s neck, and she stood up on tiptoe to kiss him. As he held her closer in response, Naoto felt her heart beat faster with the realization that there really would be an ocean between them for longer than they’d ever been apart before. It somehow hadn’t truly occurred to her yet, and she didn’t want to let go. 

Kanji was the one to break the kiss, though his face betrayed that he was no more eager to do so than she was. “Come back safe, okay? Promise?” 

Naoto nodded, looking down and gripping the handle of her suitcase. She felt Kanji lean down and kiss the top of her head one last time. 

“Now go on. Don’t want ya to miss your flight.” 

**...**

**Kanji: how do i turn the camera on**

**Kanji: the light isn’t turning on**

_Naoto: Just wait for me to call you. It should turn on by itself._

**Kanji: if you say so**

**Kanji: this is too complicated for me**

Chuckling fondly, Naoto adjusted her own camera and hit the video chat button. After a few moments of ringing, Kanji popped up on her screen, squinting at the camera. When he saw her, his face lit up, grinning widely. Naoto felt a smile overtake her own face at the sight of her husband.

“Hey!” he yelled, waving both hands. “Can ya see me?”

“Yes, and I can hear you just fine as well,” Naoto chuckled. “No need to shout.”

“Okay, good. The little light came on but I dunno how any'a this stuff works.” A beat passed in which they simply smiled at each other, then Kanji asked, “So how are ya? You look tired, are you sure you don’t wanna do this at a better time? They ain’t workin’ ya to death over there, are they?”

Naoto shook her head. “It has simply…” She yawned. ”…been a long day. I don’t mind, though. I wanted to see you sooner rather than later.“ She instantly blushed at her own words, looking away.

“Heh. Cool.” Kanji looked pleased, if a little pink himself, when Naoto turned back to the camera. “How’s everything goin’? Any chance they’ll send you home early?”

With a sigh, Naoto leaned back in her chair. “Unfortunately, no. It seems for every step forward, we take two backwards. And just yesterday, another body was found that we suspect is linked to our case.”

Crossing his arms on the desk, Kanji leaned a little closer to the camera. “Is…” He frowned. “Guess it’s as pointless as ever, askin’ if you’re safe.”

Naoto looked down. “No less so than can be expected, given the nature of this case,” she replied. The silence that followed was heavy.

“Um…s-sorry. Didn’t mean to kill the mood.” Kanji swallowed, laughing nervously. He usually kept his worries in check when she left for extended periods of time, but a case like this would have frayed his nerves even if she had been in the country. “Oh! H-hey, you were on the news the other day.”

Naoto glanced at him, raising a questioning eyebrow.

“Yeah, I guess everything goin’ on over there is a big enough deal to make the international time slot. Ma called to let me know and I caught the end of the story. They said…here, hold on, I wrote it down for ya.”

“Kanji, you didn’t have to…” Naoto watched in bemusement as he dug around in his pocket, procuring a sheet of crumpled notebook paper.

“Ok, so.” Kanji made a show of clearing his throat before reading, “Noted detective Naoto Shirogane, well-known even overseas, was called in as an expert consultant by Scotland Yard. While leads have eluded authorities in England for some time, significant progress has been made since Shirogane’s arrival.” He set the paper down, smirking. “Expert, huh?”

Naoto covered her mouth with one hand, but Kanji could read the smug look on her face plain as day. “Yes, well. I am known better in England than elsewhere in Europe or, say, America, due to my family here. And 'significant progress' is stretching the truth quite a bit for the sake of good press; however, I believe my contributions have been invaluable to what has been accomplished so far.”

“Yeah, I bet you’re showin’ all those Sherlock Holmes wanna-bes how it’s done.”

Stifling what Kanji swore would have been a giggle, Naoto waved him off. “I’m simply doing my job.”

“And it’s a damn good one,” Kanji said firmly. With a small shrug and a smile, Naoto ducked her head. Warm affection flooding his chest, Kanji instinctively leaned forward to kiss her, before he remembered and pulled back.

“I miss you,” he murmured before he could stop himself.

Naoto nodded slowly. “I’ve been away for over a month now. Which happens on occasion, but knowing that I likely won’t be returning in the near future…it is frustrating. I enjoy British cuisine, and my hotel is world-class, but after this long I miss the comforts of home.” She glanced up, catching his gaze and blushing slightly. “Namely, you.”

Even post-marriage, little moments of affection from Naoto could still fluster Kanji - and it didn’t help when she was wearing that old shirt of his, looking at him with big, sleepy eyes. They were both comfortable being apart from each other - though Kanji was less so when dangerous criminals were involved - but that didn’t mean it was never trying or lonely at times. Some times more than others, and especially times like these when the urge to hold Naoto close, kiss her a few (dozen) times, and settle in under a pile of quilts was so overwhelming.

But he couldn’t, so he simply sighed, a different silence hanging in the air as they looked at each other. A few minutes passed before Kanji clapped his hands together, remembering something.

“Oh, hey! Hold on, lemme show ya that new design I been workin’ on - here, I’ll be right back, you’re gonna love this…”

Jumping to his feet, Kanji ran to the living room to grab the sketchpad and fabric swatches from the coffee table. After Naoto left, he had been hit with sudden inspiration for a new jacket for her, and had been fine-tuning the design over the last week.

“Here,” he started, sitting back down and holding up the fabric, “which one d'ya…?”

Realizing Naoto wasn’t paying attention, he trailed off. Her head was resting on her arms, which were folded on her desk, and her eyes were closed. Shoulders slowly rising and falling, her bangs fluttered slightly with each breath. It was past 3 a.m. there and, however much she denied it, he knew she had to be exhausted.

Yawning in her sleep, Naoto shifted her head. She looked so peaceful. Kanji felt warmth in his chest and a smile on his face. He missed this. But as much as he would love to just sit here with her for a while, it was no substitute for the real thing, and he knew she would wake up horribly uncomfortable if she stayed in that position. Hopefully she’d be home before too long - they had a lot of lost time to make up for.

Naoto made a humming noise, smiling a little, and Kanji settled into his seat. Well, maybe he’d let her sleep just a little longer. After all, she seemed to be having a nice dream.


	2. Chapter 2

The thing about serial murder cases is that they are rarely – if ever – wrapped up as quickly, or in such a neat little bow, as television dramas so often portray. It is not uncommon for a local police force to require outside help in apprehending the culprit or culprits in question. Independent consulting detectives make their livings solving these cases that others cannot, and as such, often end up travelling far and wide for the sake of their job.

Sometimes, a detective may be called in to a small town that holds a big secret, and find that unraveling its mystery only leaves them permanently entangled with a new home and family.

And other times, a detective may end up called away from said home and family for an indefinite period of time. 

After all, no promises can be made regarding a case that stumps the best minds in a country, resulting in a fresh perspective being flown in from the opposite side of the world. A string of new victims doubles a three month estimate, a horribly frustrating five weeks without a single lead crawl by, and then suddenly, time is moving at double speed in a sleepless race against the clock to prevent a bombing that could claim hundreds of lives.

Needless to say, when he received the news that his wife was finally, _finally_ , able to return to Japan, safe and sound, Kanji Shirogane was sure he’d never felt more relieved in his life. The last week of paperwork, court hearings, and interviews following the arrest were almost worse than all the previous months of worrying – the case was over, he just wanted Naoto home _now_ , legal procedures be damned.

When the big day finally did come, her flight was due in Tokyo at almost three a.m., after nearly a full twenty-four hours of transit. She would be exhausted, Kanji knew, so he spent the day prior preparing for her arrival, starting with the creation of a care package of everything he thought Naoto might need upon landing: a fresh, clean outfit; a pillow and blanket for the ride home; a few _kairo_ to soothe any aches or cramps until she could take a hot bath and sleep in a proper bed. Following its completion, the rest of his evening was devoted to anxiously cleaning the apartment, wanting everything to be perfect when she got home. 

After his second top-to-bottom scrubbing of the shower, however, Kanji finally decided it would be more productive to simply rest until it was time to leave. As he changed into his pajamas around half past nine, he heard his phone beep softly, alerting him to a text message. Expecting to see Naoto letting him know that her flight was departing soon, he opened it to find, instead, a more disappointing update.

**DELAYED @HAN TIL FRTHER NOTICE DUE 2 WEATHR.**

It took Kanji a moment to decipher the text. HAN…that was the airport in Vietnam, he recalled, where she was only supposed to have a short layover. A quick internet search showed that a storm was indeed raging in the surrounding area, preventing any planes from departing or landing for the time being.

_That sucks,_ he typed in response. _Text me when you leave. Gonna turn in early so I can catch some zzz before I head to the airport. You should too._ As much as Naoto enjoyed the experience of flying, Kanji knew that she had a painfully difficult time falling asleep on planes. After a twelve-odd hour flight from London, with a five hour one coming up, she would need to rest while she could.

**COULD B V LATE WHEN I ARRIVE IN JPN. U DO NOT NEED 2 COME 4 ME.**

Earlier in their relationship, Kanji might have been hurt by this message. By now, however, he had learned to take every text – or lack thereof, in some cases – from Naoto with a grain of salt, especially when she was working. As far as she’d come in improving her communication skills, it was still not unusual for her messages to be so blunt (usually in direct proportion to her level of stress and lack of sleep) that it was like texting her teenage self again, a decade later.

_Just try and stop me. See you soon. Love you._

Almost ten minutes passed, in which Kanji assumed she had fallen asleep, before the next message came in.

**LOOKING 4WRD 2 C U AGAIN.**

He smiled, about to put his phone down when it jingled one more time.

**< 3**

Kanji could clearly picture Naoto in his mind’s eye, blushing and looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching her type those two characters. (He had an equally vivid flashback to when he had sent her the very same message in their senior year of high school, only to receive a response an hour later asking what “less than three” meant.) Chuckling, he took a screenshot of the conversation for safe keeping before turning the lights off and settling in.

…

Two-thirty A.M. found Kanji trudging through silent snowfall towards the train station, hands stuffed in his pockets and backpack hanging off one shoulder. Naoto had texted him around eleven saying that the weather had finally cleared up enough for her flight to leave, and, barring any further delays, would be landing in Tokyo by five that morning. The bright side to this delay was that he had gotten a couple extra hours of sleep, at least.

The long ride to the airport was quiet and peaceful, allowing him a little more rest before he arrived. After a bit of wandering, Kanji found the carousel the luggage from Naoto’s plane was supposed to be sent to, with twenty minutes to spare, according to the electronic display on the wall. Suddenly too anxious to sit down, he paced back and forth, looking up at the screen every thirty seconds to check on the status of the flight. He swore his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he saw that it had changed to “arrived.” A few minutes later, his phone buzzed.

**LANDED. WILL TEXT AFTER CUSTOMS.**

Kanji vaguely remembered Naoto mentioning how long it had taken to get through customs upon arriving in London. Now that he was sure she was safe on the ground, he felt relaxed enough to take a seat to wait for her, carefully removing a rolled-up length of paper from his backpack as he did so. Fingers drumming against the arm of his seat, he kept his eyes fixed on his phone, watching the minutes tick by until – 

**OMW 2 BAGGAGE CLAIM.**

Jumping to his feet, Kanji unfurled the banner and held it above his head. _‘Welcome home Naoto!’_ it read in huge letters. He found his hands were shaking as he watched the escalators leading down from customs on the floor above. Any minute now, over half a year of waiting, over half a year of worrying, would finally come to an end. He scanned the faces of descending travelers, looking for one he’d only seen through video chat for far too long…

And then, there she was.

“Naoto!”

Dressed more casually than he was used to seeing her in public, he might not have realized it was Naoto at first glance if he didn’t recognize his far-too-big-for-her skull hoodie ( _so_ that’s _where it’s been_ ). Her hair, a few inches longer than she normally kept it, was slightly unkempt, and the bags under her tired eyes were far darker than they had been the last time they had spoken. At the sound of her name, however, Naoto appeared much more alert, looking for the source. When her eyes lighted on Kanji, a smile slowly dawned on her lips, one hand over her mouth failing to disguise the happiness on her face.

At that, Kanji couldn’t hold back any longer. Dropping his banner without a second thought, he ran for the escalator, barreling up the steps two at a time. The people behind Naoto looked somewhat terrified at the sight of him racing towards her, but she only appeared amused as he held his arms wide to embrace her for the first time in nearly eight months, lifting her a foot off the ground in his enthusiasm.

“Naoto!” he exclaimed again, burying his face in her shoulder and laughing as she whispered his name in response. When the escalator brought them back down to the ground floor, Kanji spun in excited circles, still holding Naoto tight. She gave an amused hum, wrapping her own arms around him and nuzzling against his cheek.

Even after he set her down, it was a few long minutes before he could bring himself to let go, hands moving slowly up her arms to grasp her shoulders. “I missed you.”

Naoto smiled and laid one hand on his forearm, tracing small circles on his skin with her thumb. With a glance around the area to make sure no one was watching, she stood on her tiptoes to swiftly press her lips to his. “I missed you too,” she whispered. 

At that moment, Kanji wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and kiss her again; to start making up for all the months they’d missed out on. “You look dead on your feet,” he told her instead. She did indeed appear as if she might fall asleep where she stood. They would have plenty of time to catch up later. “Why don’t we get your stuff and get outta here? Anything you need before we hit the road – bite to eat, change’a clothes?”

“No, I…” Naoto interrupted herself with a yawn, arching her back in a wide stretch. “I just want to get home as soon as possible.”

“Gotcha.” Intertwining his fingers with hers, Kanji led the way to the carousel and easily located Naoto’s suitcase, one of the last few still slowly making the rounds. “Did ya manage to get any sleep at all since ya left England?”

She sighed. “A few hours, distributed over the course of my transit. I didn’t want to run the risk of missing my flight from Vietnam since I didn’t have any idea how long it would be delayed, so I stayed awake during my entire layover.”

“Damn, and you barely even had time to blink the last few days before you left,” Kanji said with a shake of his head. “Well, pretty soon here we’ll be home and you can crash for however long you want.”

“That may well end up being an entire week,” Naoto warned him, and he wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest if she wasn’t joking. The rest of his attempts at conversation were met only with increasingly tired-sounding monosyllabic answers, so Kanji let the rest of the walk pass in silence. All of Naoto’s remaining willpower seemed to be concentrated on simply holding herself upright.

It was with a grateful sigh that she finally collapsed into the first empty seat on the train bound for Inaba. Kanji wasn’t far behind, securing her suitcase up above them before settling in next to her. Naoto immediately slumped against him, and he pulled out the pillow from his backpack and tucked it between her head and his arm. Pressing a soft kiss into her hair, he murmured, “I’m glad you’re back.”

Her only response was a soft snore. Affection glowing warm in his chest, Kanji slowly, carefully retrieved the blanket as well and laid it over her. Left arm occupied as Naoto’s headrest, he took one of her hands in his right one and gave it a squeeze as he closed his own eyes. The train slowly rolled out of the station as the sun rose on the horizon. All was well with the world.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter how hardboiled Naoto is - or wants to be - her job is anything but fun and games. It would take a toll on anyone - and no matter how much she hates it, she's only human.

With a strangled cry, Naoto emerged into consciousness. Something warm and heavy was covering her face and body, threatening to smother her as she struggled against it. Her leg was ensnared by – something – she thrashed wildly until suddenly she tasted fresh air, gasping erratically, a faint red light tinting her vision. With a final tug, her leg came free, followed by a soft _fwump_ she couldn’t identify. Rolling over and attempting to support her weight on her elbows, she clutched at her throbbing head and tried not to gag as she waited for her senses to return.

Images flashed in her mind’s eye – two bloodied, broken bodies sprawled haphazardly across an otherwise spotless drawing room – a car, spinning in slow motion down a dark, wet road as lightning flashed in the distance – her own parents’ bodies, pieced together from every injury from every accident victim she’d ever seen.

“Just a…just – just a dream,” Naoto choked out, shutting her eyes tightly and trying to convince herself of that. She laid down on her back, placing a hand on her chest and breathing deeply. _In…out…in…out…take inventory of your surroundings. Focus on something – anything – else._

Having somehow ended up pulled over her head, the comforter had been tossed to the floor in her struggle. She could feel the scratchy texture of the mattress with her feet and deduced that one of them had gotten tangled in the sheets, which had come loose from the bed when she’d freed herself. The bed. It felt far too big, far too empty. She would request to be moved to a room with a smaller one tomorrow morning.

Or today, rather – according to the alarm clock, which Naoto forced herself to look at despite the red neon light burning her eyes, it was nearly two in the morning. Did that make it eleven a.m. or five p.m. in Japan…? She couldn’t recall at the moment, and as she picked up her phone and pulled up Kanji’s contact, she didn’t care.

Hands trembling as she pressed the phone against her ear, it was all she could do not to drop it. _Pick up, pick up, please,_ she begged silently as it rang. Moments later, she heard the _click_ of an answer on the other end.

“Naoto?”

“Kanji,” she whispered, heaving a shaky sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Concern crept into his tone. “Ain’t it like…two in the mornin’ there? Are you okay? You sound –”

“I’m fine,” Naoto swiftly assured him, though she felt anything but. “I just…” Visions from her nightmare were still lurking in her mind. She sat up and pulled her knees up against her chest, holding on tight as she listened to Kanji breathing.

“Can’t sleep?” His voice was soft, understanding.

Naoto shook her head, then remembered he couldn’t see her. “Today was…unpleasant.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

For a long few minutes, she didn’t answer, trying to steady herself and organize her feelings into something cohesive. “There were two new victims discovered today,” she finally started. “A married couple. They…they had…a daughter. Ten years old. She was the one who found them.”

Kanji let out a long breath. “Damn.”

“I didn’t…she had been removed from the premises by the time I arrived, but I was informed of what happened. She wasn’t the one who called the police. It was a neighbor, who…who heard her…screaming. The state these bodies are left in makes _me_ nauseous. For a child to return home from school, expecting a warm welcome from her parents, only to find…” Naoto felt her throat constrict. “Her life will never be the same,” she whispered. “ _She_ will never…nev-never…” Her sentence tapered into short gasps, which gave way to sobs. “She’s alone now, sh-she’s all alone, with that – _image_ burned into her mind. I should have been able to prevent this.”

“Naoto –”

“So many lives lost, so many lives destroyed, and I – I can’t – I can’t stop it. Three months, and I haven’t accomplished a damn thing. People keep dying, and we can’t even pin down a solid lead.” Fingernails digging into her thigh, Naoto rested her head on her knees, unable to stop the tears from coming. “How many more families will be torn apart before this is over? This girl lost everything – I let this happen – I’m _useless_.”

“Naoto, no, stop,” Kanji pleaded. “This ain’t on you. This case has been open for, like, a year now. You’re doin’ everything you can, _more_ than everything, but with somethin’ so huge, it’s not fair to yourself to – to just expect to be able to solve what an entire country couldn’t, all on your own.” He sighed, and Naoto could picture him running his free hand through his hair. “It’s not your fault. You’re gonna crack the case, and bring whoever’s behind this to justice, I know you are. But until then, you can’t blame yourself for…for everything that goes wrong.”

“I haven’t h-had such…vivid…ni-nightmares in months. I just keep imagining the moment she saw them, and…and the accident, and…it all blurs together until I can’t tell the difference anymore.” She slowly laid down on her side, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I don’t want to dream anymore. I don’t want to – I don’t want to think anymore.”

Kanji made a soft noise of frustration. “I…I can’t even imagine how you feel right now, with everything you’re dealin’ with. I hate that I can’t be there with you, or do anything to help. Are you…” he paused. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, alright? I’m not just sayin’ this ‘cause I miss you, or even ‘cause it’s dangerous, but…do you need to come home?”

Silence stretched out for a minute. “Kanji…”

“Sorry,” he immediately apologized. “I shouldn’t have – I know you can’t. I’m just worried about you. You’re workin’ ‘round the clock, losin’ sleep and skippin’ meals, and now this. I know you can take care of yourself, and I know how strong you are, but I – I can’t help it. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. I’m worried you’re gonna snap or somethin’, at least as much as I’m worried you’ll get hurt out in the field.”

“I feel like I might, sometimes,” Naoto admitted quietly. “Snap, that is. There are days when I fear that there’s something wrong with me, to be able to witness so many terrible things without batting an eye. And then others, it…it all becomes too overwhelming to bear.” She gave a soft, mirthless laugh. “What a heroic sacrifice: giving up my own peace of mind for the sake of the greater good. And it’s still not enough. I can’t even save one little girl from…from pain, and loneliness.”

For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Naoto’s own ragged breathing echoed in her ears, reminding her how weak she was. Reduced to a sobbing mess over a bad dream after months of failure at the one thing she was supposed to excel in – pathetic.

“You’re only human, Naoto,” Kanji began, breaking the silence first. “I know you hate it, but it’s true. No matter how strong or smart you are, you can’t save everyone or fix everything. No one can. But Scotland Yard called you for a reason: you’re a damn good detective, you’ve put away criminals no one else could, they _need_ you. And I know there’s prob’ly nothin’ I can say to take away the responsibility you feel when things go wrong during a case. It might be hard to see ‘cause there’s no way’a countin’ how many people woulda been hurt, or worse, if it weren’t for you, but…just know the world’s a better place with you in it.”

Naoto tried to let these words sink in, tried to believe them. “Thank you, Kanji.” She sniffled, wiping her face with her sleeve. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” Kanji sighed quietly. “This is even harder’n I expected.”

“Will you…” She wondered if she would ever be able to make a request like this without feeling that familiar twinge of shame, however small it had gotten over the years. “I need to sleep, but I…I don’t want to be alone right now. Would you…stay on the line, until…?” 

“Of course,” he promised immediately. “It’s Sunday. Shop ain’t open. I can stay with ya all day.”

“I hope I don’t need that long.” Naoto tugged the comforter back onto the bed and curled up underneath it, too drained to bother fixing the sheet.

“If you…y’know, wake up again, call me, okay? And that doesn’t just go for tonight, either,” Kanji added. “Whenever you need me, I’ll do whatever I can from over here.”

“I know. I love you,” Naoto murmured.

“I love you too.” There was a soft rustling noise from the other end of the line. “Layin’ around under this big ol’ quilt just ain’t the same without you.”

Yawning, Naoto pulled the comforter a little tighter around her. “At least you _have_ a quilt. If my suitcase was only a bit bigger I could have brought one.”

Kanji chuckled. “Yeah, and all you have is a fancy, five-star hotel with…I dunno, silk sheets, and goose feather pillows, or whatever rich people sleep on. ‘Sides, I know for a fact you got that old t-shirt a’mine, too.”

For the first time that night, Naoto smiled. “Maybe. But all these ‘fancy’ linens weren’t made by you, and are therefore inferior.” Lowering her voice, she continued, “And while your t-shirt may be soft and comfortable, much like you, it is a poor substitute for the real thing.”

After a short, pensive lull, Kanji spoke up. “I’ll send you a quilt. The blue one, with the penguin.”

“Send –?” Naoto blinked. “That would take weeks.”

“Well, hey, if ya have a breakthrough and solve the case before then, just get the hotel to send it back. It ain’t like we don’t have plenty more in the meantime. And if not –” Naoto could hear the grin in his voice – “you’ll have a little piece a’home to keep ya warm until I can.”

Naoto gave a happy hum. “I would love that.” Letting her eyelids flutter closed, she asked, “So, how is everything going back in Inaba? It’s been a few days since we’ve spoken over the phone.”

“Same old, same old. Shop’s about as busy as normal. Oh, but Rise and Yu dropped by yesterday. It was kind of a last-minute thing, but we all managed to find a little time to get together at Junes. S’been a while since we had the whole gang together, though. Rise’s got another tour coming up, but when both of you…”

Noise around her faded as Naoto’s consciousness dimmed. In her half-asleep state, wrapped in a warm blanket and listening to Kanji’s voice, she could almost imagine she was lying in his arms. _Soon_ , she promised herself. _I’ll be home soon. I have to be. I will not tarnish the Shirogane name with failure. I can’t let anyone else suffer._

With that thought, she drifted off, knowing that whenever she needed him, however long it took her to come home, Kanji would always be there, no matter how much distance separated them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I just couldn't help it, yet another addition to the long-distance saga. I don't have any more plans to update this, but I didn't when I posted the first chapter either and now here we are, so who knows. A lot of inspiration and motivation has returned to me recently, though, so hopefully a new chapter of Baby Steps and an exciting new one-shot will be ready soon! (Also, I know it's not 100% accurate, but bonus points to anyone who catches the reference :3c)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired recently to add some vague semblance of content to this extremely self-indulgent fluff I wrote a while back so I could publish it, soooooo enjoy~

The morning after Naoto arrived home from Europe, Kanji decided that the situation, of course, called for celebration – and what better way than to celebrate than with something sweet?

He got out of bed later than usual, though earlier than he would have liked, but Naoto hadn’t stirred for almost 12 hours now and as much as he would like to make up for lost time and continue snuggling, Kanji knew that when she woke up she was going to be starved. So, slowly as to not disturb her, he withdrew his arms from around her and rose to his feet. Unable to resist, he did press one quick kiss to her temple before making his way to the kitchen, where he spent a few minutes staring into the cupboard thoughtfully.

“Good morning,” a soft voice behind him startled Kanji to attention. Whirling around, he saw Naoto leaning against the bedroom doorframe, yawning. With the way the morning light framed her form perfectly, he couldn’t help a swooping sensation in his stomach as he looked at her. Even with her unkempt hair (or perhaps in part thanks to it?), she was a picture of beauty with his old baggy skull t-shirt drooping off one shoulder and hanging past her knees. It was a wonder he had survived all these months without her around.

After the moment it took him to regain his voice, Kanji asked, “Hey, I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

Naoto shook her head as she crossed the room. “I’ve been awake on and off for probably about an hour, actually. I just wasn’t in any hurry to get up, especially if you weren’t either.” She grabbed onto his sleeve and leaned forward on her tiptoes, head tipped back expectantly.

“Fair enough,” Kanji said as he leaned down, more than happy to oblige her unspoken request.

Satisfied for the moment, Naoto hopped up to perch on the counter. “What’s for breakfast? I’m famished. Actually, I don’t think I’ve had a full meal since England.”

“Damn, do they not feed you on those flights?” Kanji asked with a disapproving _tsk_. “Well, that’s what I’m here for. I’m thinking pancakes, you down?”

“Always,” Naoto affirmed, her stomach growling in agreement.

As he busied himself gathering bowls and ingredients, Kanji smirked at the sight of her settled in by the toaster. “You plannin’ on helping?”

She returned his smile with a mischievous one of her own. “I’m planning on watching.”

Kanji laughed. “Well, good to know I got moral support at least.”

When he turned his back to get milk from the fridge, Naoto reached into the bowl of chocolate chips he had poured and popped a few in her mouth. “It’s for the best, really. I attempted to make pancakes in my hotel room once, when the case was slow. All I ending up successfully making was a mess. There’s a reason I leave these things to you.”

“You’re not usually half bad when you bother with somethin’ other than cup noodles,” Kanji pointed out. “Your spatula handlin’ just needs a little work is all. But knowing you, I sure hope room service was on Scotland Yard’s dime.”

“Oh, yes.” Naoto grabbed a few more chips as Kanji measured out flour. “I actually had a much more sizable weekly stipend than I’m used to when I travel.”

“Well, if you’re gonna fly a consultant in from a different continent for eight months, you better make it worth their while,” Kanji said.

As Naoto hummed her agreement, Kanji reached over to the chocolate chip bowl, only to find Naoto’s hand in his way. Turning to face her, he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “You know we can’t have chocolate chip pancakes if you eat all the chocolate chips, yeah?”

Naoto withdrew her hand. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“So you’re tellin’ me you haven’t been sneakin’ chips behind my back? How come they’re already half gone?”

Shrugging, Naoto’s lip quirked. “Innocent until proven guilty.”

A grin began to form on Kanji’s face, and he moved closer, resting his hands on either side of her on the counter. “Guess I gotta investigate, then.”

Naoto laid one hand on Kanji’s neck, gently pulling him in. “I suppose you should.”

Kanji hooked two fingers under her chin as he leaned down. He pressed a quick couple kisses to her jawline, prompting her to shiver before moving on to lightly nibble at her bottom lip. As Naoto parted her lips in response and closed what little space was left between them, he felt her fingers brush up the back of his neck to tangle in his hair. Her tongue danced teasingly for a few moments before allowing his to catch it, and she smiled against him at the soft noise that reverberated in Kanji’s throat as he tasted warm chocolate in her mouth.

As the kiss deepened, the hand at Naoto’s chin slid behind her head to keep her from bumping into the cabinet, while his other looped around her waist, holding tight. With a hum of encouragement, Naoto crossed her legs behind Kanji’s back, ensuring he wasn’t going anywhere – not without her, at least.

When Kanji did pull back, just enough to lean his forehead against hers, both were breathing heavily. “Any…findings…to report?” Naoto managed.

“You tricked me into helping you destroy the evidence,” Kanji rumbled in feigned indignance. “That’s a crime, y‘know.”

Naoto smiled coyly, licking her lips. “A crime that _you_ are an accomplice to.”

“That was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”

“I won’t pretend I didn’t have ulterior motives,” Naoto admitted. Lowering her voice conspiratorially, she added, “They weren’t exactly complex, however. I simply wanted you to kiss me.”

Kanji grinned, warm affection glowing in his chest. Ten years ago, not even in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that he would get to wake up with Naoto in his arms, or flirt with her over pancakes. “You know you don’t gotta try that hard.”

“I know.” Naoto brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth. “This is more fun.”

Wordlessly showing his agreement, Kanji turned his head for another kiss. Sighing contentedly, Naoto responded with enthusiasm. Once again, Kanji lost himself in the feeling of her lips, the taste of her mouth. Now _this_ , he had certainly at least _tried_ to imagine, but nothing his teenaged brain could have come up with lived up to the real deal. She kissed with all the determination and intent he expected and then some, but she was so much softer and sweeter than he ever could have guessed. And for all the time they had been together, he never grew tired of her – on the contrary, their kisses only grew better, more passionate, with age.

Some time later, Naoto was the first to pull back, holding Kanji’s face in her hands and his gaze with those stormy gray eyes.

“I missed you,” she murmured.

Kanji laid a hand over one of hers, running his thumb over her wrist. “I’m glad you’re back.” He paused for a moment, searching for words as he beheld her, then rested his forehead against her collarbone and laughed. “Man. Times like these, everything feels so perfect, all I wanna do is ask you to marry me again.”

Naoto gave a laugh of her own, breath stirring his hair. “And I would happily do so if given the opportunity.”

“I love you, Naoto.” He could hear her heart pounding in her chest. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. Don’t you ever for one single second doubt that.”

Gently, Naoto nudged Kanji back up so he was face-to-face with her, and he was nearly overwhelmed by the intensity in her stare. “I thought that someday I would find the words to say how much I love you,” she said quietly, taking his left hand in hers and kissing just above his wedding band, “but it feels like each day that passes only makes that task harder.”

Kanji laced his fingers around Naoto’s and smiled. “That means a lot, comin’ from a smarty-pants like you.”

A giggle from Naoto was made even more adorable by its rarity, so much so that Kanji couldn’t help but engulf her in a huge bear hug and kiss the tip of her nose for good measure. Her laughter faded to leave behind only a smirk, and she slowly, deliberately, reached her hand over to grab a handful of chocolate chips to pop into her mouth.

When the pancakes were finally made, it was with very little regret that Naoto suggested they use blueberries instead, seeing as how they had somehow managed to run out of chocolate chips before the batter even hit the pan.

 


End file.
